Automatic Age

DEWEY'S DEFENSE OF "AN AMERICAN
INSTITUTION"-VENDING MACHINE
Arthur Krock, famous col­
umnist of the New York Times,
reported in his column “In The
Nation” of June 16, 1942, how
Representative Dewey protected
an American Institution. We sa­
lute Statesman Dewey and to
Newspaperman Krock! Krock’s
story follows:
WASHINGTON, June 15 —
The dollar has friends every­
where. Just now the dollar has
more friends abroad than ever
before, and there is reason to
suspect that some influential
coin-collectors among the Axis
personages— hedging against a
growing certainty of the success
of the United Nations in the war
— are among them. “She is a
good girl, that dollar,” once re­
marked Clemenceau (or perhaps
it was Andre Tardieu). There­
fore, an account of a move to
protect the highest unit coin of
the United States and its uses
would in all likelihood contain
nothing novel.
But this is a story of a gallant,
eleventh-hour defense of the
broader and more intimate uses
of a much humbler American
coin, an active part of the daily
lives of nearly all citizens. They
constantly are a s k i n g f o r
“change” so that this most con­
venient of our monetary units
will be steadily in their posses­
sion. The coin is the nickel, and
its defender in this instance was
Representative Charles S. Dewey
of Illinois.
Im plications Realized
When Mr. Dewey was Assist­
ant Secretary of the Treasury
and, financial adviser to the gov­
ernment of Poland, he was ac­
customed to deal in millions. But
this did not prevent him from
realizing the social and economic
implications of a proposed new
coinage of nickels and proceed­
ing swiftly and successfully to
modify the metallic formula.
In the second W ar Powers Act
of 1942 there is a direction to the
Mint to eliminate the metal
known as nickel from the coin
with the same name because of
a shortage of the metal, vitally
essential to armament produc­
tion. The Director of the Mint
was instructed, as soon as the
act became effective, to turn out
nickels composed of equal parts
of copper and silver until De­
cember 1, 1946. But during con­
sideration of the act Congress
added a provision, authorizing
the Director, with the approval
of the Secretary of the Treasury
ANOTHER MONTH
NEARER VICTORY!
INTERNATIONAL MUTOSCOPE REEL CO., Inc.
PENNY A R C A D E H EA D Q U A RTER S S IN C E 1895
Manufacturers of Photomatic and O ther Famous Coin O perated Equipment
44-01 Eleventh Street
Long Island City, New York
6
AUTOMATIC AGE
© International Arcade Museum
and the chairman of WPB, “to
vary the proportions of silver
and copper and to add other ma­
terials if such action be in the
public interest.”
It was further provided that
these five-cent pieces “shall be
deemed to be minor coins or coin­
age and not silver coins,” which
leads to the impression that the
silver bloc in Congress saw a
chance for another use of 71
cents silver against a world price
of 35 cents. That, however, has
nothing to do with Mr. Dewey’s
rescue act.
A C ry fo r H elp
One day he was informed by a
manufacturer of nickel-in-the-
slot vending machines, which
have become an American insti­
tution, that the Treasury was
about to order the Mint to begin
the production of five-cent pieces
composed of equal parts of silver
and copper. Since all of these
vending machines, including
“juke boxes,” are set in opera­
tion by a nickel that is suscepti­
ble to magnetic attraction, the
silver-copper coins would not
have started the machinery.
Mr. D e w e y communicated
with the Treasury and urged offi­
cials not to bring out a coin
which, unless it were carefully
distinguished from the existing
one, would impel citizens to
smash unresponding vending
machines; and, if it were not,
would tend to end the functions
of the machines. He said he be­
lieved the Treasury had been
thinking entirely of the mone­
tary aspect of the nickel, and
nothing of its social and eco­
nomic significance.
“The economic significance,”
said Mr. Dewey, “comes from
the development of the vending
machines. Thousands are in­
stalled in manufacturing plants,
including those doing war work,
where, for security’s sake, hu­
man vendors are not wanted,
and wherever the American peo-
September, 1942
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